Our Vision

Our vision is that First Referral Hospitals (FRH) in Africa deliver quality care as part of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). AFRHiCARE envisions more resilient health systems in Africa, where FRH retain skilled health workers, and play a pivotal role in achieving equitable and sustainable health care.

  Why AFRHiCARE?

FRH (also referred to as district or county hospitals) should deliver quality care as part of integrated primary health care (PHC) systems in support of countries’ efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In many settings, the expectations of FRH are growing in terms of the scope (range) and scale (volume) of service provision. The drivers are complex, but include population growth, epidemiological transitions, disease burden, technological advances, and community demands.

FRH as organisations often lack financial resources however, they have an insufficient or inadequately skilled workforce, poor infrastructure, and lack of pharmaceutical supplies, resulting in poor quality care. This is especially true in rural, remote, insecure and/or inhospitable environments that characterise many African countries. The same places may face increasing climate and disease outbreak risks.

Unfortunately, FRH have been neglected at both research and policy levels. The AFRHiCARE partnership aims to address this neglect. The six-year partnership will provide new evidence on FRH roles, service redesign, health workforce requirements, and how these intersect with the policy landscape, technologies, and climate change and adaptation.